Bridgeport Then & Now

When I travel on Route One, I like to imagine what the road looked like in the 1920’s when it became the nation’s first interstate highway. This trip shows locations in and around Bridgeport where I found images from the early 20th Century and took photos to show what these places look like today. These “Then & Now” images gives me a clearer sense of the prosperity and the economic importance of what has become Connecticut’s largest city since the 1970’s.

Itinerary

	Columbia Records original Headquarters, c. 1907 Howe St & Kossuth St, Bridgeport, CT 06608, USA
	Perry Memorial Arch in Bridgeport, CT - Then & Now
	Soldiers & Sailors Memorial in Seaside Park
	Seawall at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT - Then & Now
	P.T. Barnum Statue, Then & Now - Bridgeport, CT
	Nathaniel Wheeler Memorial, Then & Now -Bridgeport, CT
	Bridgeport Public Library, Then & Now
	United Congregational Islamic Center, in Bridgeport, CT - Then & Now
	YMCA of Bridgeport, Then & Now
	Mountain Grove Cemetery
	McLevy Green 102 Bank St, Bridgeport, CT 06604, USA

Columbia Records original Headquarters, c. 1907

Howe St & Kossuth St, Bridgeport, CT 06608, USA

Who would have guessed this one? Columbia Records grew from a gramophone manufacturing company that dates back to the 1890s. They started pressing discs in 1902 in the building that was once occupied by the Howe sewing Machine factory. The building has been demolished, and a dog racing track commands the intersection where it once stood.

Perry Memorial Arch in Bridgeport, CT - Then & Now

MCMXVIII is carved into the entablature atop the neoclassical granite archway to mark the date that it was dedicated to honor William Hunt Perry. That’s 1918, in case you’ve forgotten your Roman numerals. Perry had served as superintendent of Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing, a sewing machine company that was acquired...

Soldiers & Sailors Memorial in Seaside Park

Guillermo Bosch submitted this view on Route1Views https://route1views.com/travel-the-road/?Latest=Latest&filteredlistopen=true&view_id_nofilter=8863

Seawall at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT - Then & Now

In 1867, plans for a seawall and a driving track and walkway were made and drawings for the park were obtained from Frederick Law Olmsted whose firm completed the work. Olmsted’s design for New York’s Central Park won in a competition held nine years earlier. Circus showman and Bridgeport mayor P.T. Barnum...

P.T. Barnum Statue, Then & Now - Bridgeport, CT

No public figure in Bridgeport’s history is better known than Phineas Taylor Barnum. This statue, completed before his death in 1891 was dedicated on the Fourth of July,1893. Sculpted by Thomas Ball, it sits on land that Barnum, once the Mayor of Bridgeport, had donated to the City in order...

Nathaniel Wheeler Memorial, Then & Now -Bridgeport, CT

Located at the intersection of Fairfield and Park avenues, the fountain was erected in 1912–1913 by Nathaniel Wheeler's children. Wheeler was a principal in Wheeler & Wilson, an early manufacturer of sewing machines, who moved his factory to Bridgeport in 1856, Wheeler had been active in many city affairs, including plans...

Bridgeport Public Library, Then & Now

Founded in 1881, the Bridgeport Public Library has served a changing demographic for 140 years. The Main Branch was built at the same time US Route 1 was being organized. Opened in April, 1927, It became the center of several Branches which continue to serve the residents of Bridgeport. The...

United Congregational Islamic Center, in Bridgeport, CT - Then & Now

The United Congregational Church is one of the oldest religious congregations in Connecticut, organized in 1693 by English settlers. Their landmark 1926 church building was sold in 2017 to the Islamic Center for $1M . At the announcement of the sale, Amhed Ebrahim, Director of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center...

YMCA of Bridgeport, Then & Now

Charles Wellington Walker designed the new home of the Bridgeport YMCA in 1927. The style, “English Tudor - Gothic”, was intentionally Baronic to emphasize the luxurious features of the facility, which included a billiard room, a custom tile pool, massage tables, and a mahogany-paneled library. Even during the Depression, Bridgeport...

Mountain Grove Cemetery

Matthew Christopher posted this view on Route1Views: https://route1views.com/travel-the-road/?Latest=Latest&filteredlistopen=true&view_id_nofilter=8622